When tobacco was first commercially raised, labor was relatively inexpensive and the harvesting or priming of the leaves was accomplished by hand, placing the same usually in a sled type conveyor for transport back to the curing barn.
As labor became harder to get and more expensive, various types of riding harvesters with various types of conveyor means from the primer or cropper station to a central location were developed. These devices have been directly mounted on tractors, have been towed behind tractors, and have been self-propelled. They have included stations for tying the tobacco on sticks, stations for placing the tobacco in bulk curing racks and more recently provided a means for placing the tobacco in bulk curing boxes. Also in recent years, automatic tobacco primers or harvesters have been developed but these are extremely expensive and can only be economically justified where large farming operations are involved.
Each of the prior art tobacco harvesters have had their advantages and disadvantages. Some have problems with the conveyor mechanisms crushing the tobacco while others require extra personnel in the handling of the tobacco at a central deposit location. Still others have been mechanically so complex that the average farmer is unable to repair and maintain the same in proper operating condition.